Friday, May 20, 2011

It's a Date!


Wendy & Karen
 A couple weeks ago I received an email from Yahoo Upcoming Events announcing a Book Your Lunch event with authors Karen White and Wendy Wax.  Having never heard of Book Your Lunch, I really didn't know what to expect but a few things caught my attention.  First, the event was being sponsored by Fiction Addiction, a local independent bookstore and I always do my best to support local businesses.  Second, Karen White and Wendy Wax are two favorite authors who write southern womens fiction and womens fiction set in the south (yes, there is a difference) respectively, and having met them at a previous Georgia Romance Writers conference in Atlanta, I knew they would be entertaining.  Finally, the event was being held at The Lazy Goat, a terrific Mediterranean cuisine restaurant I'd heard about so I knew we'd be well fed.  (I have my priorities!) Favorite authors, fellow readers, terrific food and a chance to support a local indy bookstore?  Total win!  I bought my ticket and two days ago attended my first, but surely not my last, Book Your Lunch event. 


Jill, Wendy & Karen
They warned me my GPS wouldn't find the restaurant and they were right but I knew the general area and eventually got to the right place.  After circling the parking garage a few times I found an open parking spot then set out to find the right exit to the restaurant.  I had only gone a few steps when I encountered a friendly woman who looked like she knew where she was going.  Turns out she's a fellow blogger by the name of Kathy Roberts who runs a site called Bermuda Onion's Weblog and she's a regular at these events. The next person I met was Jill Hendrix, the owner of Fiction Addiction.  If you're in the Upstate of South Carolina, drop by this great indy bookstore and say hello and don't forget to check out upcoming events at their website. 

Jill is a wonderful hostess, immediately putting her guests at ease.  I was delighted to discover that I had been seated at a table with Wendy Wax and looked forward to chatting with her over lunch but first, we all settled in to listen to Karen and Wendy talk about the ins and outs of writing, being critique partners and their separate journeys to their current releases: The Beach Trees by Karen and Ten Beach Road by Wendy.


Table-Mates Mary Alice and Evonne
 Karen writes an average of two books per year and has published fourteen books over the past ten years.  She describes her writing as the kind that "makes you laugh, cry and not want to stick your head in an oven."  In other words, she'd never be an Oprah pick.  She always writes about the south because that's what she knows and loves.  She especially likes the Lowcountry of South Carolina and has used that area as the setting for several of her books.  One of the things Karen is known for is the relationships between women, especially sisters, in her books.  While Karen has only brothers, her mother has sisters and as a child, one of Karen's favorite things to do was sit quietly under the kitchen table and listen to her mother and aunts talk.  Those memories became the inspiration for the "southern voices" and sister relationships in her books today.



Karen's 2010 release, On Folly Beach spent five weeks on the NYT Bestseller List and is a finalist for this year's RITA for Novel with Strong Romantic Elements and her newest release, The Beach Trees, debuted at #15 on the NYT Trade Paperback Bestseller List.  It's apparent that many new readers are discovering the wonders of this very talented author.  Click here to read Janga's 5 Star review of The Beach Trees, posted yesterday at The Romance Dish and watch the video below to hear Karen talk about the inspiration for the story.








A journalism major, Wendy Wax worked in television and radio, including hosting a radio show called "Desperate and Dateless," before turning her talents to writing novels.  She started out writing romantic comedy, publishing books with appropriately amusing titles such as her all-time favorite, Leave it to Cleavage.  A couple years ago, changes at her publishing house caused Wendy to change agents, publishers and the direction of her writing.  She switched from romantic comedy to women's fiction and never looked back.  Her first womens fiction novel, The Accidental Bestseller, a 2010 RITA finalist, is one of my favorites.  Her current release, Ten Beach Road once again explores relationships among women and the journey they embark upon.  Here's the story blurb:

Madeline, Avery, and Nikki are strangers to each other, but they have one thing in common. They each wake up one morning to discover their life savings have vanished, along with their trusted financial manager- leaving them with nothing but co-ownership of a ramshackle beachfront house.


Throwing their lots in together, they take on the challenge of restoring the historic property. But just as they begin to reinvent themselves and discover the power of friendship, secrets threaten to tear down their trust-and destroy their lives a second time.
 
During the writing of Ten Beach Road, Wendy, who says no one in her family is allowed to own tools...for their own safety and the safety of others...became addicted to HGTV's home improvement shows and made a video about it on Youtube.  Click below to check it out.
 
 
 
 
I hope you all enjoyed this peek into my first author lunch adventure.  I had a wonderful time and am already looking forward to my next one and, after hearing Karen and Wendy speak, I'm more excited than ever about reading their new books!
 
Have you ever attended an author lunch or an author talk? Do you have events like these where you live?  What author or authors would entice you to attend one?  Have you attended any of the livestreaming author talks that have been on the internet recently? 
 
We have two books to give away today to two random visitors thanks to the generosity of Heidi Richter at Penguin, Karen White and Wendy Wax.  Just leave a comment to be eligible to win a signed copy of The Beach Trees or a signed copy of Ten Beach Road.  (U.S. / Canadian addresses only)
 
~PJ

24 comments:

  1. PJ

    This sounds like and awesome day I would love to attend one of these events. I have been to author talks at local libraries and at the couple of conventions I have been to and I loved them, but this sounds like a wonderful idea

    Have Fun
    Helen

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  2. I'm in Australia & so can't win but the Author 'mornings' I have attended have all been wonderful. Full of insight.

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  3. It looks like a fun event, meeting some great authors and readers. There are occasional authors who come to our library but always when I'm working but maybe there will be a time when I can go.

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  4. Helen, it was a lot of fun. There were about 30 women there. It was a lovely, relaxed setting and a great way to meet authors and be introduced to their books. Also, Fiction Addiction did a great job of having plenty of books on hand to buy, including the entire back list of both authors!

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  5. Marybelle, "author mornings" sound interesting. What exactly are they?

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  6. Maureen, unfortunately most of the author booksignings, etc. around here are during the day and working people often can't go. I hope to see more evening events.

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  7. What am amazing experience, PJ! Sounds like everyone has a fantastic time, especially you. :)

    I have a local indie bookstore in town where I live and I too like to buy from there and support them as much as possible.

    I was very lucky to attend the booksigning at the NJRW conference a few years back, and ended up having dinner with Eloisa James, Tiffany Clare, and Maya Rodale. Eloisa had set up a BB get together, and I was lucky enough to attend. It was an amazing night, especially since we also got to meet Eloisa's husband as well!(Yes, it's shameless namedropping, but I'm only doing it just this once :P )

    I also love going to NYC and attend Lady Jane's Salon the first Monday of every month, as often as I can. I've been exposed to so many fantastic romance authors and debut authors that way-in fact, that's how I first got introduced to Sarah MacLean.
    P.S. What IS the difference between women's fiction set in the south vs. southern women's fiction? Inquiring minds want to know. :)

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  8. I'm so glad you had a great time, PJ. It sounds wonderful. I confess that I'm such an introvert that I usually fail to take advantage of such opportunities. I did have lunch with some Names in the literary world when I was in grad school. I was most awestruck by poet Adrienne Rich.

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  9. Lisa, in my opinion, the main difference is that in southern women's fiction the location (town, region, sometimes a house)is intrinsically "southern" and plays such a significant role in the story that it becomes another "character." Whereas, in the other type of book, the south is the setting for the story but not such a significant part of the story.

    Does that make sense? Janga, want to jump in here? You're much more of an expert on this than I am.

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  10. It's been years since I've attended an author talk. Sounds like you had a great time.

    Wendy is a new author for me. I've enjoyed several of Karen's books. Thanks for the post and giveaway.

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  11. I have not attended an author talk or signing. I hope to someday soon. They look like such fun. I like a more informal setting where the readers can ask questions and talk to authors.

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  12. PJ, it sounds like you had a great time. I love author's luncheons! It's a great day to get to know favorite authors (and readers) in a more intimate setting.

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  13. Sound wonderful. They don't have events like this in my area. I have listen to authors talk streamline before and its very interesting.

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  14. What a lovely event. I would enjoy attending an author talk and signing. One that would be meaningful would be with the author Mary Doria Russell as I have read several of her books.

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  15. Being at an event such as yours would be memorable and special. I haven't had an opprotunity to attend a signing but would love to experience this. Jacqueline Winspear would be interesting to meet.

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  16. LSUReader, I hope you'll give Wendy a try. She uses more humor than Karen but they both write about the relationships between women, a topic I find endlessly fascinating.

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  17. Runner10, I hope you'll have an opportunity to attend one someday. They tend to be small and offer a wonderful setting for relaxed, intimate conversation with authors.

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  18. Virginia, Avon has a live stream author event with Julia Quinn and Elizabeth Boyle coming up on Friday, June 3rd at 7pm PST/10pm EST. Watch our "News & Notes" for more info as we get closer to the date.

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  19. Aww, PJ, I'm so glad you had such a great time!! Thanks for sharing your day and pictures with us. Did you have any pictures taken with you, Wendy, and Karen together?

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  20. Sounds like you had a fabulous time, PJ! It is always fun to share time and food with people who love what you love. Thanks for sharing!

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  21. Unfortunately I live in a very small town so I don't have the opportunity to attend events like this. It would be awesome to get to meet one of your favorite authors.

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  22. I have both books here and am reading TEN BEACH ROAD right now it is so good....hope they both sell oddles of books I love both of them!!

    Donna

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  23. I[m coming into this topic a bit late, but wanted to comment anyway. Both books sound WONDERFUL! I am totally into Southern women writers who write about women in the south. (Say THAT 3 times fast!! LOL) I've been to an "author talk" in NC before. I was lucky enough to meet an author I had talked to online, another author, whom I'd never heard of before, and then there was the author I came to see, Jill Conner Browne, THE SWEET POTATO QUEENS author. But I live in a very small town, very rural area, period, so I don't get the chance to meet many authors, so my trip to NC really paid-off! I'd go to all I could if I lived closer to an area where they actually visit!

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  24. It was so good to meet you at the lunch! I hope to see you at more events now that you know how to get to the Lazy Goat!

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